Machiavelli just changed my life. No, I didn't just read the Prince and created a plan to take over the world. Rather I just visited for the second time the new Italian/Deli/Takeaway/Store-Selling-Random-Italian-Things-Like-Mugs-and-Cheese place thats moved into Covent Garden called Machiavelli.

The place is stunning. Shelves on the wall display the large variety of, quite frankly a bit random, products they sell - Truffle Polenta, anyone? Milk jug that looks like a milk carton? Large communal light wood tables, and benches take up most of the space and actually, this is the only thing I don't like about the place as a breakfast venue because often early in the morning, balancing on a stool requires a considerable amount of effort.

The first time I went to Machiavelli it was for a fairly late breakfast with the Boyfriend. Sadly, Breakfast ends at 12.00, so the Boyfriend and I settled for Antipasti and a Mozarella Salad - not the most obvious choice for breakfast but it worked.

I'm pretty sure the people who set up Machiavelli were once importers of Italian products to London and thus the quality of all ingredients involved was incredibly high.

The antipasti, a large selection of cured meats, flat bread, artichokes, a pate of some sort, and something else. The portions were generous and the charcuterie alone satisfied both The Boyfriend and I.

The Boyfriend, got weirdly protective of his Mozzarella Salad, and I took this as an indication that it was good.

Along with this we had a blood orange juice and a mint tea. It was a good experience, but what really made me love this place - was take -away at lunch time.

When I first walked past the deli counter in the centre of the restaurant I was immediately impressed by how much I wanted to eat everything. Especially, impressive given most of these things, lasagna aside, looked healthy. Five minutes of long hard thought later - Fregola, Chorizo and Squid Salad vs Lentil and Duck Salad, I settled on a small portion of potato and pumpkin ravioli with pesto. The portions look small and therefore expensive, 4.00/ 4.50 for a salad was the roughly the going rate, £7.00 for a large but after investigation and taste, it was a total bargain.

The Ravioli consisted of seven large ravioli, a perfect portion for most women, I think, tender and fresh, topped with Salad (which I actually ate, rather than moving to one side), spring onions, chives and olive oil. It was heavenly. A perfect lunch that suprisingly, given it was pasta, left me feeling light and non drowsy.

Lunch for me, is normally confined to the takeout of Covent Garden which basically means I eat either Pret or Itsu, every day and pay the same, if not more, as I would at Machiavelli and have roughly half the experience. Thus, this place is a real game changer. So its official. I am a convert.

Reader Comments (1)

thanks for the review! I eat at pret most lunch times or valerie's when i want to indulge. i thought machiavelli would be much more expensive than that, but it sounds quite reasonable considering i often spend £5-£8 on pret if i include breakfast!